Harris v. Shanahan

387 P.2d 771, 192 Kan. 183 (1963)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
H
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Harris v. Shanahan

Kansas Supreme Court
387 P.2d 771, 192 Kan. 183 (1963)

  • Written by Heather Whittemore, JD

Facts

In 1962 Kansas (defendant) conducted a census and found that its population was approximately 2,165,000 people. In 1963 the state senate introduced Senate Bill 440 (SB 440) to reapportion the senatorial districts according to the 1962 census data. SB 440 passed in the senate and went to the state house of representatives. The house of representatives amended and passed the bill, and the senate passed the amended bill. SB 440 was sent to the governor to be signed into law. Due to an unnoticed clerical error, a portion of SB 440 as passed by both houses of the Kansas legislature was left out of the bill presented to and signed into law by the governor. The enacted law omitted the portion of SB 440 that related to the city of Leawood, inadvertently leaving Leawood’s citizens out of the apportionment plan and without representation in the senate. J. P. Harris (plaintiff) challenged the law in state court. The district court held that the law was unconstitutional and void. Kansas appealed to the state supreme court, arguing that the legislative intent of the bill was clear and requesting that the court insert the omitted language to prevent the law from being voided.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Fatzar, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 820,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 820,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 989 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 820,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 989 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Legislation and Regulation

Key Terms